Tawanda Musarurwa
It was two days and four walks on different transects through the wildlife infested thick vegetation of the rugged terrain on the Mana Pools floodplain.

“Can you run Tawanda?” asked Calvin, the team leader. “I certainly hope so.” Great I thought. This is the perfect introduction to an escapade into a wilderness teaming with marauding wildlife — the verdant Mana Pools National Park.
Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit here.

I am, maybe, but not quite.

The Mana Pools National Park is indeed pure jungle, what with its extensive stock of elephants, lions, buffalo, hyena, vultures, and the occasional leopard.

So taking a stroll here takes quite a bit of bravado.

And so I headed out with the team of Calvin & Tina Weare and Eric Taylor from Harare and Rob Mackenzie from Chinhoyi.
Walking through wild Mana Pools, among these terrifying beasts, it got me thinking that some of these “dangerous animals” are not as dangerous as one would think.

They are, maybe, but not quite.

Well, at least if you strictly follow the guide’s instructions. And no matter what happens don’t panic and run screaming in the bush . . .

A common warning on a Mana Pools travel brochure:
. . . Mana is wild and so are the animals, but it is safe so long as you use your common sense. Enjoy the animals for what they are and for the pleasure of watching their natural behaviour. Do not try to “make them do something”, and always remember that wild animals can be dangerous — treat them with respect.

And so, advice in mind, we ventured out into the wild. I’m glad Calvin has a wealth of game-counting experience under his belt.
“The secret is to look through the bush not at the bush,” he says.

For a moment, it seems hardly worth it as we encounter nothingness (animal-wise, I mean). It is at this time that Calvin, Tina and Rob’s deep knowledge of the bush come to the fore.

They proffer their expertise on rocks, trees, vegetation, climate, and dung (yes, dung); all these different types of dung strewn across the bush.

Suddenly, Calvin stops and points at an elephant bull several metres away to our right, shuffling near a shrub.
We headed off before he got irritated.

Then there was a stunning herd of impala; we counted 201. Frolicking nearby were 17 zebras. Four elands elegantly wandered around. We walked a few hundred metres, and encountered a pair of elephants to our left. One of them spotted us and flapped its ears.

Not a good sign at all!
I did not know I could walk so fast, without zipping into a run.

The rest of the 4 kilometre bush-walk is one encounter after the other. We counted 12 species — impala, elephant, zebra, roan antelope, sable, tsessebe, eland, warthog, monkey, baboon, kudu and hippo.

The constantly shifting landscape is particularly noticeable when you are driving through the park, but also when you walk.
Mopane and dry “jesse” forests suddenly gave way to acacia woodlands and mahogany as we got closer to the Zambezi River.
No lions (okay, we did not see any of the felines, but trust me they are always there even if you do not see them; which really did not help with the nerves).

When we completed the walk I was relieved and happy to be alive. Oh, and yeah, the game-counting was good too!
The main organisers of the 2013 event, Kelvin & Jane Hein said this year’s edition was a success and thanked all the participants for their time and sacrifice.

“We think it was a phenomenal success. It was a huge, humbling, soul-searching venture and we are particularly grateful to all the voluntary participants.

“All this is done on a voluntary basis, and every participant was here at their own expense and this is work that is of huge benefit to the whole community.

“We are gob-smacked,” said Kelvin & Jane.
Spectacular bush sceneries, easy-going wild animals, fantastic people — all for a good cause, what more could one ask for?

The Mana Pools game-count process
Each team walks four different transects during the weekend and each transect is counted four times. Teams navigate by compass or increasingly by Geographical Position System (GPS) along transects. There is a choice of walking unaccompanied or with one of the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers or professional guides who join the count each year.